Abstract
King coconut (Cocos nucifera), a variety of coconut that is native to Sri Lanka. King coconut water is one of the fastest growing export commodities in Sri Lanka during the last decade. Rich nutritional profiles of sugars, vitamins, minerals and amino acids with profound therapeutic values have made king coconut water a popular functional beverage worldwide. This paper highlights the importance of optimum pre-harvest factors (variety, maturity) along with systematic processing, packing, transporting and storage; to maintain a consistent quality of the king coconut water.
Highlights
King coconut (Cocos nucifera var. aurantiaca), a tropical nut belongs to Family Arecaceae and mainly categorized into “Typica” (Ran Thembili, Gon Thembili) and “Aurantiaca” (Rath Thembili, Nawasi Thembili) varieties (Ekanayake et al, 2010)
As king coconut water is rich in vitamin C, it could be effectively used as an important dietary antioxidants
7-8 months of nut maturity with the maximum concentration of reducing sugars along with optimum levels of minerals and vitamins in king coconut water is highly recommended to be used as a natural beverage or processed food for exportation (Jackson et al, 2004)
Summary
King coconut (Cocos nucifera var. aurantiaca), a tropical nut belongs to Family Arecaceae and mainly categorized into “Typica” (Ran Thembili, Gon Thembili) and “Aurantiaca” (Rath Thembili, Nawasi Thembili) varieties (Ekanayake et al, 2010). It is endemic to Sri Lanka with unique flavour characteristics compared to green coconuts, which are available in other coconut-growing countries. King coconut cultivation in Sri Lanka has been estimated as 2.20 million palms (DCS, 2005) and mainly concentrated in Kurunegala, Gampaha and Galle districts. King coconut is a drupe, which is enclosed with an edible liquid endosperm (water) and a solid endosperm (kernel). King coconut water is a popular functional beverage with splendid nutritional properties and rich in sugars, vitamins, minerals and amino acids with immense therapeutic values (Shubhashree et al, 2014). The kernel of king coconut is a delicate spongy material, which offers soothing mouth feel and rich in antioxidants, flavonoids and phytochemicals (Kalina and Nawaratne, 2018).
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